School administrator in Odessa not content with status quo

DANIEL SKOLFIELD

Published 6:00 pm, Wednesday, January 3, 2007

Odessa American

At a place in life when most people would think about slowing down, Hector Mendez steams ahead by furthering his education, spiritual relationships and service to the community _ on top of his full-time day job.

The 56-year-old assistant superintendent for the Ector County Independent School District has not only been a leader in desegregation efforts and gaining unitary status in the public schools, but he constantly challenges the education system to be more relevant to students.

"I've always had a different way of looking at things," Mendez said. "There's the ongoing conquest to better the quality of instruction to meet the needs of the students."

Regardless of financial status, skin color or belief system, all students must be considered when adapting policies and making improvements, Mendez said.

"You have to pay attention to all _ not just the collective," he said. "It's a different world for kids today _ it's different than when I went to school."

Those school days in Big Lake, about 100 miles southeast of Odessa, are only a speck in Mendez's long-term education career.

"I've been in this business for 34 years," he said.

Drafted in the U.S. Army in 1968, Mendez said he was fortunate to finish his tour of duty in Hawaii and decided to take classes at the University of Hawaii, finishing up at Angelo State University in 1975.

The graduate found his first teaching job in Midland but dreamed early on of affecting the process outside of the classroom.

"After my first year of teaching I already knew I wanted to be an administrator," Mendez said.

Acting as a foot soldier in the ranks of education, Mendez said he taught at Midland South and Sam Houston Elementary before advancing to the principal position at Lamar Early Education Center and Burleson Elementary.

"When you're a classroom teacher, the challenge is to touch every child _ that's where the rubber meets the road," he said. "But as a principal, you're responsible for a bigger vision with the benefit of a larger group and working as a team."

Eight years as a classroom teacher and nine years as a principal served as experience for Mendez to become an elementary and secondary supervisor developing magnet school programs and handling staffing issues.

"In administration, you're looking at a bigger system _ the institution itself _ and that's where I find the challenge," he said.

ECISD Superintendent Wendell Sollis said Mendez has been a valuable asset to the district's schools.

"I think he's very professional and very knowledgeable _ he works hard to stay current in the field of education, and he's committed to working hard to improve the academics of ECISD," Sollis said.

"He has a genuine heart for the students," Sollis said. "I think he's an unselfish person and doesn't mind committing the time and effort to the position."

Although he's reached the retirement requirements of the district, Mendez said he has no immediate plans to do so _ he's actually keeping very busy with his time as a student again.

Halfway through a 10-course plan to achieve a master's degree in theology, Mendez said he's doing well in his ministry studies at Loyola University in New Orleans.

"Going in I was thinking that this was just going to be about religion, but it deals with history, geography, anthropology, science, sociology and religion," he said. "It really has challenged my whole value system and my beliefs."

While the program does have a spiritual slant, Mendez said the discipline to keep learning has made him a better person.

"I see the study of that fitting into everything I do," he said.

Even with heavy reading assignments that take hours every day, Mendez is pursuing the degree and also considering a doctoral program in the future.

"I'm up to the challenge not to just say I did it, but personally it's been very beneficial to me," he said. "I'm 56 year old, and I have to start getting it together."

Also part of "getting his life together," Mendez is 18 months into a four-year diaconate program with the Catholic Diocese of San Angelo.

"It's a ministry, but one that leads to a vow _ an ordination," he said. "You are connecting yourself to the religious field and all that entails."

The program gives Mendez more classes to attend, papers to write and duties to perform.

"There's something bigger _ something beyond all this," he said. "Personally I think the ministry is not only putting on vestments and serving the church, but serving others _ it's getting involved in the community."

San Angelo Diocese Bishop Michael Pfeifer said he has every intention of keeping Mendez in the program.

"I believe that he has been a proven leader and has been a servant to people in the church," Pfeifer said. "He's a man who is very gifted with many qualities."

Giving himself to three full-time jobs with ECISD, a masters degree and the Catholic diaconate, Mendez said his days fly by as a father of five with four grandchildren.

"The fine line has been in spending enough time with my family," he said. "At home we typically spend time together."

Organization and time planning have made sure personal ambitions don't preside over raising good children, Mendez said.

"It seems like I have been there for them when they needed me and instilled some values. As a parent, your kids are a reflection _ a piece of you," he said.

Professional accomplishments, spiritual development and strong family ties are the fuel that keeps Mendez looking at future goals.

"I'm asking myself what is my next challenge and my role as a human being for the rest of my life," he said. "I feel like a college student getting ready to receive my diploma."